Supreme Court’s e-KYC ruling: Is legal precedent on disability access meaningless?

What does it say about India’s legal system when a visually impaired person and the survivor of an acid attack are forced to litigate for years to be able to complete a basic KYC procedure to access banking and financial services?

On April 30, the Supreme Court ruled on the case of Pragya Prasun vs Union of India and issued 20 directions to the Reserve Bank of India and other financial institutions to make e-KYC systems accessible to persons with disabilities.

KYC, or Know Your Customer, is a regulatory process that financial institutions use to verify the identity of their customers before allowing access to services like opening bank accounts, investing, or using digital wallets. Customers have to submit documents such as Aadhaar, PAN card, photograph, and biometric data. But sometimes it may also require further authentication such as blinking eyes or handwritten signatures, that are not accessible for persons with disabilities.

Privilege of blinking

The petitioners were forced to knock on the country’s highest judicial door to access what millions take for granted: use financial services that mandatorily require e-KYC.

The verification process required customers to blink their eyes, which the petitioners said they cannot do. The process had no provisions for thumb impressions, which people with visual impairments...

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